1. Functional Process

Process Overview

Products are products sold by Solvay. We can also have few products under development.

They are created with a possible hierarchy on 5 levels. 

Definition & use cases

Creation process

2. Security

Product security model

3. Specific rules & automation

Product Creation 

The following fields are mandatory at Product creation:

• Name
• GBU
• Level

Product Update

4. MDG Interface

MDG is a SAP system where products are defined with all their information (production, sales, plant, ...). It's interfaced with back end system: WP1 and PF1 and with CRM.

For the moment, only 3 GBUs are live in this system: Soda Ash & Derivatives, Special Chem and Novecare. And so only them are interfaced with Core CRM.

The interface runs once a day around 1:00 AM french time. Each time a product is created or update in MDG, it's sent to CRM.

As depending on the GBU, the level 4 is not managed the same way in SAP, the creation or update of such products is sent only with the update of a products Level 5. For example if you have product level 5 named AAA linked to level 4 named BBB, if BBB is updated, nothing is sent to Core CRM. BUT if AAA is updated, then the interface will send the information of AAA AND the information of BBB.

If we receive an update for a product which doesn't exist in Core CRM, it will be created.

Only level 5 have a MDG code. That's why it's not the MDG code which is used as interface key. We've created a specific field visible only by Admin named "SAP External ID". This field is the concatenation of 3 information: SAP origin + GBU code on 2 characters + Product Code. 

Example of SAP Exernal ID for product 90076419 from Novecare: RCSCS90076419.

The GBU codes are stored in the custom settings "GBU Code". But to summarize, we have:

• Novecare: CS
• Soda Ash & Derivatives: SD
• Special Chem: CH

DANGER: if a user creates manually a product, he will not populate the SAP External ID as he can't see this field. Then if we receive this product with the interface, the system will not find it and create a new one. So at the end, we'll have duplicate. That's why, if some one from Soda Ash, Special Chem or Novecare creates a product Level 4 or 5, he must advise us, so we can update this field. BUT as there is an interface, this should not happen as all products should be created with it. But, as very often they forget, it's good to run a report to track situation. There is one in the folder SBS User Support named "Products with no SAP External ID".  There can be few exception when there is no code or no real one.

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